As a young family we used to  travel each summer by station wagon  from Denver  to Los Angeles  to visit our families.   Our kids used to love these trips because a lot of fun was realized in the hotel swimming pools we patronized on the way.   One of the fun games we played in the pools was “Marco Polo.”      A designated family member (usually me) began in the middle of the pool with eyes closed.   The purpose was to catch other family members through a sea of silence.   The only aid to this effort was to yell out the name “Marco.”   Everyone else was obligated to yell out “Polo.”   If you were quick enough you could catch one of the “Polos.”   Faith is very similar to “Marco Polo” in that the absence of sight (guaranteed outcome) is essential to its accomplishment.   And without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) Faith is not knowledge, understanding, careful calculation,  or even the safest path, it is simply doing what  God asks.  It is taking a risk for the kingdom.   If there is no risk, no real chance of failure, no possible defeat, then it is not faith.      In Hebrews 11, Moses led over 2,000,000 men, women, and children  of God out of Egypt.   Do you think he had all that it required to do such a task? When Moses challenged Pharaoh  face to face, do you think he even had a clue as to how God would change Pharaohs mind?  And when Moses was penned up against the Red Sea, do you think Moses even had an inkling as to how God would rescue him in the midst of a certain slaughter?    Moses yelled to God, “ Marco”, hoping to hear a  “Polo.”   And “Polo” he heard, for in the morning the Red Sea had parted.   If you want your children to walk by faith, teach them that it only comes by stepping out in faith.

Teachable Moments

Read a few historical accounts with your children about the old ships and their captains who traveled thousands of miles across perilous seas to reach and establish this country. Old ships like the Mayflower,  Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria,  lacked  a modern day compass or radar screen that guides ships today. Captains,   by faith depended upon the positions of the stars at night to guide them on their journeys.    They did not have an Oregon Trail to follow, but only endless waves and swells for a path.   After you have  finished your reading and discussion about these old ships with your children  take them out to a nearby lake.  This should be in the evening when the stars are bright and night is darkest.     Tell your children to close their eyes,  and envision that  all they have before them is an open sea.   There are no roads to follow, no lights to find.   Have them open their eyes and pretend that a fixed star in the sky always points  west.    As long as they guide their ship according to that star, they will find their port. 

When you are finished with this pretend journey, draw a comparison for them in regards to walking by faith.      Tell them  God will likewise call them to  leave  ports of content  for ports of challenge.   Do not hesitate  in relating  a  personal account of walking by faith.    Encourage them about the faith journeys God has planned for them.   Instruct them that  If they  fix their eyes on Him, just as the old captains anchored their hopes in the stars,  they will revel in  incomparable experiences with God.       Conclude with a final  instruction:    the more faith journeys  attempted,  the better faith skills achieved,  the greater life lived for God.

Word of God

2 Cor. 5:7  “We walk by faith not by sight”

Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Heb. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Heb. 11:29    By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.